Mannerism
c. 1541, Candia (now Herakleion), Crete
El Greco is arguably the best-known Mannerist painter. Born on Crete (then a possession of Venice), he learned his craft in the Byzantine manner. He later spent enough time in Venice itself to pick up dramatic color techniques, then synthesized all into a whole after settling in Spain. The spirited Counter-Reformation going on in his new (and last) home lent itself to his mystical/religious themes. His style was so completely unique that it died with him, its loss unnoticed for centuries.
- • The Disrobing of Christ (1577-1579)
- • The Burial of Count Orgaz (1586)
- • The Agony in the Garden (c. 1590-95)
- • View of Toledo (c. 1597)
- • Laocoön (c. 1610)
April 7, 1614, Toledo, Spain
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(Image scan courtesy and copyright of Mark Harden, used with kind permission. Please visit The Artchive for more fine resources.)
